A Tool and His Money Part II: The Conclusion…read more
August 23, 2021: Arrived to drop-off an impact drill for repair. The guy--we'll call him Tim--behind the counter took it, wrote up a tag w/ my info (i.e., address, email, phone number) and asked what's the issue. After explaining the issue he did some stuff on the computer and said that the max it would cost to fix would be $130.
Tim: Of course, we'll need to check the Serial Number (S/N) to make sure if it's under warranty first before we do any repairs.
Me: Don't bother. It's old and def not under warranty just fix it. $130 is fine. (The tool brand-new is $250-300).
Tim: Well we'll check anyways, just in case.
Me: Ok, whatever is clever. Either way just fix it.
August 27, 2021: Received a voicemail from Tim and he states they checked the S/N and the tool isn't under warranty and that it'll be a max of $130 to fix. -_- So, I call him back...
Me: So, we already discussed this and the $130 is fine. Please just fix it.
Tim: Oh, Ok... I'll send it off today.
Me: So, you don't fix these in-house?
Tim: No we ship them off to our facility in San Diego. Once it arrives a technician will look at it, assess it and call you w/ an exact amount it'll cost to fix, get a payment and they can then ship it back to you.
Me: Oh, ok that's good. I really don't want to have to drive all the way back to Hayward.
Oct 1, 2021: A Month goes by and no word from the repair center. So I call Hayward again to find out what's the hold-up.
Me: Hi just trying to figure out what's going on w/ the tool I submitted for repair.
Tim: *after looking it up* Oh, I guess they're waiting on parts to fix it.
Me: Uhh..Ok... I thought they were going to call/email me to pay for it before they started fixing it?
Tim: Oh, you mean they didn't? Hmm... Well they probably will once the parts arrive.
Nov 12, 2021: Received a voicemail from an unrecognized number stating that my tool has arrived and is ready for pickup. So I call Hayward and want to find out if they can ship it to me instead of me having to drive up. And I end up talking to a random customer service rep and not someone at the store.
Me: Can you just transfer me to the store?
CS Rep: There's no way for me to do that. I can send them a message for you if you like.
Me: Uhhh... That's not true. I've called and gotten thru to the store before.
CS Rep: Well, I don't know sir. Nothing I can do.
Me: Ok, whatever just give them my name and phone number and have them call me.
CS Rep: Ok they should contact you within a day or two.
Nov 22, 2021: Fed-up waiting I decide to schlep over back to Hayward and see what the fuck is going on. I arrive and give Tim the whole saga.
Tim: Huh... That's weird. You really should've gotten a phone call or email or something. But the good news is I do have our tool and you can pay for it and be well on your way.
Me: Cool. I'm not blaming you, per se, but I just want you to know that your whole tool repair process is, pardon my French, fucked up.
Tim: No I understand. It's not the way it usually works. I'm sorry about that.
*Tim continues to push buttons on the computer as the process of getting rung-up is taking much longer than it should*
Tim: Uh, well... It appears my whole system is frozen and I can't charge you right now.
Me: So that means it's free, right????
Tim: Uh, I wish. Hmmm... Tell you what. I don't want you to have to come back up here so I'll email you a link later and you can pay and we'll ship it to you. How's that sound?
Me: Not ideal but what can I do at this point?
Nov. 23, 2021
I never received that email so I call back the following day and Tim apologizes and says he'll send it today.
Nov. 24, 2021
The link showed up late on the 23rd, I see it in the morning, pay and call to verify they got the payment and to also hope they ship it out before Thu (Turkey Day). He acknowledged the payment and said it would be sent out that day.
Tim actually calls back later in the day and says something was funny with the payment and asked for some nonsense about me emailing him something or other. He still says he will ship it out that day regardless.
Dec. 7th, 2021
After multiple calls attempting to get a tracking number for the package and no reply the package does finally arrive with the tool inside. #XmasMiracle
TLDR: So even tho it *only* took 3.5months I guess eventually you'll get your tool fixed. Now that's efficiency! These boiz make the govt look competent.